Top Android phones with fingerprint scanner protection (Late 2015 edition)

Fingerprint scanners might not be a perfect way for protection of our smartphones, but when it comes to speed, elegance and added functionality, they are an essential feature. The sad state of affairs in the mobile phone market, however, is that not all phones come with a fingerprint scanner, so if you value having fingerprint protection on your phone, the usual choice of devices might not be acceptable.

Fingerprint scanners are no longer reserved for the top devices only

That's why we've selected the best phones from the second half of the year that come equipped with a fingerprint scanner.

Great news is that while fingerprint scanners are still mostly found in higher-end devices, now, many affordable phone makers in China have started implementing fingerprint protection. We have more choice than ever, and that's what we aim to show you here: the top Android phones with fingerprint scanner protection, both the expensive, flagship-grade ones, and the affordable solutions.

The Samsung Galaxy Note5 is a monster of a phone, and unlike other Android top-tier devices that have decided to skip on a fingerprint sensor for some weird reason, the Galaxy Note5 is not one of them: it has got a touch type fingerprint reader built in the home key, and we found it to be fast and accurate.

Apart from that, the Galaxy Note5 is an absolute beast with arguably the fastest chip on the market right now: the 14nm octa-core Exynos 7420 by Samsung, and the phone's also got the latest edition Super AMOLED Quad HD display (a 5.7-inch one), 32GB of fast internal storage, and a premium glass and metal design.

Sure, it doesn't have a microSD card slot, nor removable battery, but if those are not really essential on your list of features, then it's well worth it considering the Note5.

The HTC One M9+ is everything that the One M9 wasn't: it features a non-overheating MediaTek Helio X10 octa-core system chip, it's got a Quad HD display (a 5.2-inch one), and it's got a fingerprint scanner.

All of that makes us wonder why that's not what HTC released as its flagship for 2015. Well, there are some reasons: the Helio X10, for instance, is less powerful than Snapdragon's top-grade chip, but nonetheless the One M9+ remains a stylish, well-designed device with a fingerprint scanner for added security. And if you're looking for an HTC grade of premium design with a fingerprint scanner, that's basically your only choice. And it's not a bad one.

The OnePlus 2 is the self-proclaimed 'flagship killer', and while that claim might be overblown, fact remains that it is a heck of a phone for around half the price of a regular flagship at $329 (for the 16GB version).

Naturally, the OnePlus 2 comes with a fingerprint scanner of the touch type built in the home key. Apart from that neat feature, you get a 5.5-inch phablet with a 1080 x 1920-pixel resolution, the top-tier Snapdragon 810 system chip with 4GB of RAM, and a 13-megapixel main camera along with a 5-megapixel selfie shooter. The battery on the OnePlus 2 is a 3300mAh battery.

The new MX5 is a 5.5-inch 1080p phone that runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop with Meizu's custom FlyMe user interface on top, and it feature a sturdy, precisely machined slim metal body. It's not just about the good looks, though: under the hood, there is the new MediaTek Helio X10 system chip, and on the back, a 20-megapixel camera is responsible for the photographic part of the handset.

Naturally, it also has a touch type fingerprint scanner that works fast and would function even if your finger is wet (but the accuracy is much lower than).

The Galaxy A8 is Samsung's thinnest phone to date, and one of the slimmest Androids ever built. And yes, it has a fingerprint scanner embedded in the home button for added security.

It sports a 5.7" 1080p Super AMOLED display, making it the largest phone in the metallic A-series. The handset runs on an octa-core Snapdragon 615, clocked at 1.5 GHz, and has 2 GB of RAM, 16/32 GB of internal memory, plus a microSD slot.

Huawei has just took the wraps off its brand new Huawei Honor 7i: an exciting new phone that is different than all the rest thanks to its flip-out rear camera that goes all 180 degrees to transform into a selfie shooter, and it can even stand at various other angles for some creative shots.

first fingerprint scanner embedded on the side of the phone

The Huawei Honor 7i also features the first fingerprint scanner embedded on the side of the phone, a neat idea that we've seen float around in rumors, but never in an official device.

All of that comes in a sleek aluminum body and with a 5.2-inch 1080 x 1920-pixel Full HD display, while under the hood the phone is powered by the Snapdragon 616 system chip (an upper mid-range piece of silicon).

The Huawei Honor 7 features a fingerprint scanner on its back and it's an affordable offering that brings a stylish aluminum alloy exterior.

In terms of specs, you get a 5.2" 1080p display with 423ppi. The phone is run by the company's own 64-bit Kirin 935 chipset, clocked at 2.2 GHz for a quartet of Cortex-A53 cores, and 1.5 GHz for the other A53 set of four, arranged in a big.LITTLE configuration, with ARM's Mali-T628 GPU doing the graphics heavy lifting. 

The phones come with 3 GB RAM and 16-64 GB internal memory, plus a microSD slot for expansion. Honor 7 is housed in a 143.2 x 71.9 x 8.5mm chassis, and weighs 157g.

If you are looking for a big-screen phablet with added fingerprint security, the Oppo R7 Plus is one of the best currently available options: it features a big, 6-inch display of the AMOLED kind with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels, it runs on the upper mid-range Snapdragon 615 system chip with 3GB of RAM, and sports 32GB of internal storage in the base model.

In terms of camera, you have a 13-megapixel main shooter and an 8-megapixel front-facing cameras for selfies.

The ZUK Z1 is the first of a new brand backed by Lenovo, and unlike many others, it's an international phone that will go on sale in Europe, America, southeast Asia, and the Middle East in September. At the affordable price of $299, the ZUK Z1 brings a 5.5-inch Full HD display, the powerful Snapdragon 801 system chip with 3GB of RAM, and a whopping 4100 mAh battery. In terms of camera, the phone ships with a 13-megapixel main camera and an 8-megapixel selfie shooter. It also comes with a plentiful 64GB of internal storage and sports the USB Type-C port that we expect to become the standard for all phones in the near future.

The phone runs on Android Lollipop-based Cyanogen OS 12.1, and yes - it has the fingerprint protection that you are looking for.

Specs

Finally, if you are looking for a super affordable phone and are not afraid to experiment with a second-tier brand, you might want to also consider the Ulefone beTouch 2. 

This is the cheapest phone in this round-up, and one of the most affordable phones to exist with a fingeprint scanner: its full retail price is just $230. For that price, you get a 5.5-inch 1080p device running on MediaTek MT6752 octa-core system chip with 3GB of RAM. Your photographic needs are taken care of by 13-megapixel camera using Sony's IMX214 sensor and a 5-megapixel selfie shooter.